January 17 - Pope Stresses Need For Witness of Spiritual Ecumenism
 Article: Ecumenical Movement - Misc.

Addressing a delegation from Finland, Pope Francis stressed the importance of ecumenism and faith in a society where God is becoming less present. The delegation was in Rome for an annual visit with the Holy Father on the feast of Saint Henry, the patron saint of Finland.
 
The Pope began by reflecting on the theme of the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is derived from St. Paul's question to the community of Corinth: "Is Christ divided?" The theme, he said, comes in a time where some "do not recognize anymore the full and visible unity of the Church as an actionable objective."
 
"Currently, even the ecumenical path and the relations between Christians are crossing significant changes, due in the first place to the fact that we find ourselves professing our faith in the context of society and culture where the reference to God is always less present and all that recalls the transcendent dimension of life," the Holy Father said. "We note it above all, but not only, in Europe."

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 January 17 - Brown declares California drought emergency
 Article: Signs Of The Last Times

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday declared a drought emergency in California as the state struggles with the least amount of rainfall in its 153-year history, reservoir levels fall and firefighters remain on high alert.
 
"We are in an unprecedented, very serious situation," said Brown, who asked California residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 20 percent. "Hopefully, it will rain eventually. But in the meantime, we have to do our part."

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 January 19 - Netanyahu Praises Harper for 'Great Moral Leadership'
 Article: Israel And The Last Days

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in Israel and will address the Knesset on Monday. This is Harper's first visit to Israel.

In welcoming Harper, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that while this world is "often cynical and hypocritical, you have shown great moral leadership. When it comes to fighting terrorism, you know that there cannot be any politically correct double talk, but only unequivocal condemnation and united international action.

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 January 19 - Obama: Pot is not more dangerous than alcohol
 Article: Signs Of The Last Times

President Barack Obama said he doesn't think marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol, ''in terms of its impact on the individual consumer.''

''As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol,'' the president said an interview with ''The New Yorker'' magazine.

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